Friday, 30 October 2009

We are pleased to announce the successful launch of the Own Art scheme, with our first sale today using this fantastic Scottish Art's Council initiative.

The painting that was purchased was an outstanding work and I know it will bring the couple much pleasure in the years to come.

Our customers can now purchase work from the gallery priced between £100 and £2,000, interest free (Typical 0% APR). Please get in touch with us at the gallery if you'd like to know more, or you can read about it on the Own Art web site.

Monday, 26 October 2009

22 years ago (!) I was taught Art by Ron White at Castle Douglas High School. After his retirement Ron started a business engraving glass.

He came into the gallery this summer and spoke to Jill, he was delighted to hear of my recovery and see what we were doing at the gallery.

A couple of weeks later he came in with these McGill Duncan Gallery glasses, which he'd engraved for me. Not many people have glasses like this to drink out of and I feel so lucky that he made them for me, what an unbelievably kind present, I treasure them.

He was a live wire of an Art Teacher and I look back with fond memories of my lessons - the Art room was always somewhere I felt at home.

Thursday, 22 October 2009

Michael John Ashcroft delivered new work to the gallery last Saturday. Two of the paintings are of Kippford, they are for our Galloway exhibition which opens on the 5th December. The other painting is of a scene closer to Michael's home in the North of England - a bus stop at Clayton Brook in Lancashire.

Michael started to paint after surgery for a non-malignant brain tumor in his twenties. Unfortunately this surgery was radical and it left him deaf and with a long recovery ahead. In the subsequent years he has gone on to have further surgeries and treatment for more tumors.

On his visit to the gallery he talked about his passion for painting and the moment after his first surgery when he became compelled to start painting. Half his face was covered by shadow and the other half bathed with light. He knew he had to paint his portrait, capturing all the shadows and light that were reflected on his face - and has never looked back. I immediately thought of John Bellany and his 'hospital drawings' after his liver transplant. Michael and I looked through a book of Bellany's work and he could strongly identify with the feeling that if you were painting you were alive!

Michael recently had a much talked about retrospective exhibition at Astley Hall, documenting his last ten years of painting. You can read a review here.

Michael loves visiting Galloway so we can look forward to more of his work inspired by our region. We are delighted to welcome him as a new artist to our gallery.

Sunday, 18 October 2009

In today's Sunday Times Waldemar Januszczak says 'if you're in the art world, you hate pots.' He is writing about potter extraordinaireGrayson Perry and his new exhibition at the Victoria Miro Gallery.

How wrong could he be? At McGill Duncan Gallery we positively LOVE pots and so do our customers.

Each hand made pot has its own personality, its own energy. I love the different glazes and the way each potter has an unmistakable way of working and decorating the clay.

To me exhibiting pots is one of the great joys of being in the art world.

Saturday, 17 October 2009

The gallery was packed last night for our Opening Night. Great fun! In fact so much fun was being had I had to rush out for more wine half way through the evening! Jill and I were so pleased with the response to the exhibition from everyone who was there.

I must say a special thank you to Vivien, Judy and Anne, our wonderful helpers who served drinks all evening and washed up all the glasses. Anne also brought us some beautiful flowers from her garden, including sweet peas.

Here's Aliisa Hyslop and Ken Grierson in front of their paintings, the two paintings on the wall behind them look exceptionally good together, they both use beautiful soft peaceful colours.

Saturday, 10 October 2009

I would recommend a tour round Charles Rennie Mackintosh's iconic Glasgow School of Art.

It felt funny doing a 'tourist' tour in my own city. We all trouped round in a little group (complete with an American tourist asking loud questions and going on and on about Frank Lloyd Wright!), following our enthusiasticguide, an Architecture student.

I have been to classes in the building a few times but the tour took me to places I'd never seen before: the library, the white boardroom and a superb collection of Mackintosh furniture.

Thursday, 8 October 2009

We are delighted to say that we have been accepted onto the Scottish Arts Council's Own Art Scheme. This will enable our customers to buy Art priced between £200 and £2000 with a ten month interest free loan* Typical 0% APR.

We will be able to process loans from Monday 26th October, as we are waiting to go on a training course where we will learn how to process applications. However, in the mean time you are very welcome to reserve Art that you would like to buy using Own Art.

Sunday, 4 October 2009

I really enjoyed Radio 4's Front Row on Friday, talking to Damien Hurst about his decision to start still life painting. To be honest I think it was the only way he could go if he wanted to preserve his artistic spirit, and from listening to the program, painting in his studio in Devon seems to have created a sanctuary for him. He did seem to be taking great delight in the process of painting.